News & Blog
Where We Go From Here – A Youth’s Reflections on Moving Towards Action as a Community
My name is Isaac Olson, and 4 years ago, I was a lot more naïve. In December 2020, I was still in my first year as an undergraduate at the UW, barely aware of what my future degrees would be. I had no idea that I would still be at the UW after 4 years, having gotten bachelor’s degrees in both Oceanography and Environmental Studies, and now pursuing a master’s degree with the School of Marine and Environmental Affairs.
Read moreIndustrial-era decline in Arctic methanesulfonic acid is offset by increased biogenic sulfate aerosol
A new Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences paper authored by Ursula Jongebloed, graduate student in UW Atmospheric Sciences, Becky Alexander, PCC Director and UW Professor in Atmospheric Sciences, and colleagues challenges previous work suggesting that North Atlantic primary productivity is declining. Because certain phytoplankton emit dimethyl sulfide (DMS) which reacts in the air to form methanesulfonic acid (MSA) and sulfate, MSA has been used as a proxy for phytoplankton primary productivity in the past.
Read moreFrom Knowledge to Power: The PCC Could Lead Climate Action - Here's Why it Must
By Brett Anton In the last few weeks of my UW education, I was struck by something one of my professors left me with. “If this is how scared the scientists are…” he said, and then just trailed off. It was not a joyful sentence to finish, but the professor, a member of the ESS department here at UW, had a point.
Read moreCommunity-engaged climate adaptation: partnering with Search and Rescue in Northwest Iñupiaq Alaska
by Charlie Hahn (Anthropology), Chase Puentes (Geography) and Ellen Koukel (Atmospheric Sciences) As part of their graduate research, Charlie, Chase, and Ellen worked collaboratively with a volunteer search and rescue group from the Iñupiaq village of Kivalina, Alaska. Their projects aim to build on the latest in climate science to produce knowledge relevant to both the academy and the community. This past winter, PCC Climate Solutions* funding allowed the students to travel to Kivalina to discuss with their collaborators proposals for better applying their research to community climate adaptation needs.
Read moreBaba Brinkman impresses as PCC-nominated Walker Ames visitor
Step aside blogs, tweets, and posters (oh my!), may we introduce performer, activist, and rap artist, Baba Brinkman. The PCC nominated Baba Brinkman as one of this year’s UW Graduate School Office of Public Walker-Ames Lecturers. This charismatic climate rapper joined us at UW, flying directly to Seattle from the COP27 meeting in Egypt. A review of his Nov 17 “lecture” to a crowd in Kane Hall can be found here.
Read moreIntersection of climate change and human health: PCC Winter Seminar Series videos now posted
A collection of recordings from the Winter 2021 PCC 586 Seminar Series is now available on our website, and Youtube (attached below). The UW Program on Climate Change (PCC) and Center for Health and the Global Environment (CHanGE) organized a seminar series in Winter 2021 that focused on the intersection of climate change and human health. The goal for this series was to bring together researchers in the two communities to discuss how climate change has and will impact human health.
Read moreAlexander and Hess in "3 Ways Climate Change Affects Your Health"
This past Earth Day (April 22nd) PCC Director Becky Alexander and Dr. Jeremy Hess of UW Medicine were interviewed for “3 Ways Climate Change Affects Your Health” produced by the UW Medicine digital publication, Right As Rain. The article touches on the three things climate is changing; more frequent and extreme weather events, snow and ice melt, ocean acidification and higher sea level, but primarily focuses on how climate change affects our health.
Read moreDon’t ask officials what they think of global warming — ask if they want a warning
Professor Dale Durran, past chair and current professor for the Department of Atmospheric Sciences, has recently published an article through the Washington Post, titled “Don’t ask officials what they think of global warming — ask if they want a warning”. The article mainly focuses on the issue of warning the public about events exacerbated by climate change, as our continued use of fossil fuels will only further drastic weather events.
Read moreStanding with Asians and Asian Americans to Advance Justice, Equity, and Inclusion
The recent violence targeting Asians, Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders reflects the deepening of many of the divisions and increasing acts of violence that have arisen since the pandemic began. Six of the eight killed in the Atlanta-area shootings were of Asian descent and seven of them were women. As an organization that promotes and celebrates community and inclusion, the UW Program on Climate Change (UW PCC) stands with the University of Washington and educational institutions across the country to decry recent and racially motivated attacks.
Read moreThe Program on Climate Change Winter Welcome 2020. In the Time Before.
On 25 February 2020, 80 climate scientists, educators and staff from across campus gathered in person to celebrate much that was new in the community for 2019/2020. What we did not realize at the time was that this was going to be one of the last face-to-face interactions we could have as a community for months. Two weeks later, on March 9 the University of Washington went to remote operations, finishing the winter quarter online.
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